In south east (SE) Australia, grain growers are facing large scale degradation of soil chemical, biological and structural fertility which has largely been the result of past inappropriate management practices over a long time. Issues of concern to the industry include declining soil organic matter, total nitrogen (N), soil pH, soil structure and soil biology. Most of these attributes change…

This project aimed to address the priorities set out under section 3.4.2 of the GRDC Research Prospectus, in particular, 'innovative ways of enhancing crop performance on soils with hostile subsoil' and, to a lesser extent, 'understanding the biology of the soil-root interface'. It addresses directly the two gaps in current knowledge noted in the July 1999 workshop, i.e. 'what are the roots…

Organisation: The University of AdelaideProject start date:8 May 2014Project end date:31 Jul 2014

The GRDC Low Rainfall Zone Cropping Solutions Network represents grain growers stretching from the Central West of New South Wales, across the Victorian and South Australian (SA) Mallee, the Upper North region of SA and across to the upper Eyre Peninsula. The group identified crop yields on sandy soils across their regions to be well below water-limited yield potential, more so than for…

The Australian Winter Cereals Collection (AWCC) was the central receival point for all wheat samples supplied. In total, 1973 wheat samples were collected from across Australia. Data collected included the supplier’s name and address, variety name and history of sample. A sub-sample was supplied to Diversity Arrays Technology Pty Ltd. The remnant seed was stored for subsequent testing if…

Irrigation and grain growers have found it difficult to manage the effects of their cropping and irrigation practices on the amount of water that drains below the crop root zone to recharge groundwater. Such drainage causes water tables to rise causing sub-surface salt deposits to be mobilised, leading to dryland salinity and increased salt in rivers. To overcome these problems, this project has…

This proof-of-concept project was aimed at evaluating the potential for using naturally occurring protozoa to control pest molluscs such as the grey field slug ( Deroceras reticulatum). This project aimed to identify effective Australian protozoan parasites of the key pest, grey field slug. Following testing of the capacity for infection of the slugs by ingested protozoa, maternal transmission to …

This project aimed to discover simple, safe economical mixtures of volatile chemicals with the fumigants phosphine # , carbonyl sulfide # or ethyl formate # that had significantly enhanced toxicity towards stored product insects. Another aim was to provide information that contributes to registration of alternative fumigants, by providing information on the mechanisms of toxicity of fumigants to…

Organisation: SARDI (South Australian Research and Development Institute)Project start date:1 Jul 1999Project end date:30 Jun 2002

Growers are increasing the intensity of cropping in the cereal-livestock zone and investing in the cropping phase. The pasture phase is receiving insufficient attention and often 'pastures' between crops are low in legume content, unproductive and most importantly, contributing poorly to building soil fertility through nitrogen (N) fixation, thereby missing opportunities to improve crop yields…

The Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR) Victoria (VIC) 'Climatedogs' animations are an awarded climate communication tool which frames and explains the key drivers of climate variability in an entertaining and informative way. This project has updated the science and modified the VIC Climatedog animations and made them publicly accessible so they can now be…

This project was a component of the GRDC's Australian Winter Cereals Molecular Marker Program (AWCMMP). The objective of this program was to meet the over-riding industry need for grain varieties to be world competitive in designated end uses with yield, disease resistance and stress tolerance, maximising their value to Australian farming. Access to molecular markers is seen as a fundamental part …